World Day for Dialogue for Diversity and Development

On May 21 the United Nations Association of Canada, Prince George branch celebrated it’s first Annual General Meeting at the University of Northern British Columbia. This event marked the one year anniversary of the Prince George chapter of UNAC. The event was opened with World Day for Diaglogue for Diversity and Development, which involved those attending to engage with a diverse student panel and to learn about opportunities to promote equality, dignity, and justice in Prince George. This primarily was done through a panel of speakers from various backgrounds discussing what diversity meant to them, as well as discussing their cultural backgrounds.

The panel for the 2015 World Day for Dialogue for Diversity and Development consisted of:

The event took place at 7pm on May 21st at the Gathering Place at the University of Northern British Columbia. The panel was organized and moderated by UNAC-PG member Michelle Metzger. Questions that were discussed on the panel included:
-What region of your country are you from?
-What is the population of your home country?
-How many different cultural/ethnic, language, religious groups are represented?
-Is there a traditional clothing item or way of dress that is unique to your region?
-What is your family’s cultural and/or ethnic heritage?
-What languages do you speak at home, work, school, and in your community?
-Is there a religion that is important to you?
-What else would you like us to know about your country/family/community?
-What does development mean to you?
-In your home context, do you think different groups view development differently? How so?

This was followed by a Q&A from the audience and closing remarks by the panel. The closing question was “What would you like the UNBC and Prince George community to understand about multiculturalism or cultural diversity in the context of promoting sustainable development?”

UNA-Canada, Prince George is dedicated to promoting constructive Canadian participation in the United Nations system in the northern communities of British Columbia including aboriginal groups and other non-government organizations.